What changes have you made to help the environment?

[babymother9238]

I am ashamed to admit that I have come a bit late to the urgent need to help the environment. We have always recycled as much as pos and walked shortish distances. But my DS and I have decided to need to do MUCH more. The problem is that my DH and other DS are not as bothered so we need to find easy ways to help the environment that they won't fight too much. I have done some googling and come up with these ways but I would love to hear about your ideas (and recommendations for eco friendly products):

1. Resolve to mend not buy new when something breaks/tears.
2. Use the new laundry sheets (e.g. Earth breeze) instead of large laundry liquid bottles.
3. Buy a Sodastream so I can make sparkling water (I am menopausal and am currently addicted to to sparkling water) so I don't have to buy plastic bottles.

4, Only use the drier when I genuinely need to i.e. it is raining or need something urgently. We have become way too dependent on just chucking all washing in the drier.

1. Only putting hot water on for a few hours in the morning.
2. Turning down the thermostat and not putting heating on until it is seriously cold.
3. Refusing to put heating on unless everyone is already properly warmly dressed.

8, Reducing the red meat we eat from about 4 times a week to twice.

WHAT ARE YOUR IDEAS PLEASE?

I’ve noticed recently that some online supermarkets now let you buy things by unit — ie one courgette, one onion etc if that’s all you need — rather than packaged bags of three.

Certainly Waitrose and Asda do it, I think Sainsbury’s too. Not sure about the others.

Following with interest.

@Bananalanacake

Wear clothes several times before they go for a wash, only my pants get one wear. Towels and bedding get washed every 2 weeks.

Yes, this as well - although towels weekly.

We try to do what we can within our circumstances (I have a health condition awaiting diagnosis and a child with additional needs).
This means we need a car, tumble drier , not yet ready to toilet train, etc.

However, we do try to eat seasonal where possible, be mindful of water usage, not buy things unless really necessary, use Bio D products, etc. I use reusable sanitary products, bamboo toothbrushes, soap and so on.

Recent changes:
Switched the kids to bar soap as I also think it's better for their skin
Reusable bags for fruit and veg
Use even more recipes with the less desired cuts of meat eg drumsticks (due to intolerances and my health, I can't go plant based entirely)
Really pulled back on not buying random crap for the sheer sake of it for Xmas
Use the library even more (I love reading)

@PlausibleSuit

I’ve noticed recently that some online supermarkets now let you buy things by unit — ie one courgette, one onion etc if that’s all you need — rather than packaged bags of three.

Certainly Waitrose and Asda do it, I think Sainsbury’s too. Not sure about the others.

Tesco have been doing it for years

I despise log burners because the smoke and smell seems to linger at ground level, whereas chimney smoke blows away. If affects my DS’s asthma.
I really wish they’d ban them .

I think if you do what you can at home, you can also make changes at work. The big companies are run by human beings too and change should be influenced by everyone. In offices, moving to green energy suppliers, setting up recycling schemes if they're not in already, bringing back spoons for coffee stations, recycled paper in the printer or less printing policies. Work at home policies, office lights on movement sensors, turn the heating down etc.

Yes, what each of us does is tiny, but if we all make changes and continue pressure on companies then we've done what we can.

I definitely have more to do.

I went through the house sorta making over one room at a time so now it's

• bathroom - soap and shampoo bars, baking soda toothpaste, bamboo cup, face clothes, facial oil

• Kitchen - keep packaging to a minimum by stocking from refillery
  use dishwasher block in soap cage
  compost food scrap
  send all plastic and paper waste to recycling.

Never line bins anymore, just rinse after emptying.

Laundry - I make the washing powder, so easy, stopped using the dryer

Energy - insulated the hot water cylinder, changed all bulbs to LEDs
installed a heat pump
afixed pressure control valves to taps

Mostly though it's about buying less.

We've always used keep cups, water bottles and lunchboxes, it's a cultural thing, and the house was built by an environmentalist using reclaimed materials and bio product.

Still lots of ways we can improve.

These are all brilliant ideas. Thank you. I am going to write them all up and pin in the kitchen and get the whole family to tick off when we have done one of them. I am now trying online a site which shows the carbon impact of all the main changes. Also, does anyone have any brand recommendations for:

• washable silicon sheets instead of foil or baking paper
• laundry sheets
• soap/shampoo bars
• plant based substitutes for meat (as close to meat tasting as pos as DH and DS don't complain).

Has anyone tried to install solar panels?

Soap bars : we use marseille soap for hand washing, body wash, if you use olive soap you can use it to wash your hair as well. Greek friend of mine's late mother would use very basic olive soap also as laundry soap and for cleaning the house.

Many things I do are really just because I am lazy & frugal , very happy to have an 'only' child, never buy new clothes - only use charity shops, never shop online, always used a library, can't be bothered to organise an overseas holiday ...

It's not that I've particularly changed my lifestyle to be green it's that my lifestyle is quite green. Most of this came from being very poor years ago.

Only go on a plane every few years.

Never use domestic flights.

Small car.

Shop in charity shops and only get things from new shops if can't find what I need in charity ones.

Eat local.

Weekly baths.

Only wash clothes that are dirty, wear clothes for several days.

Use throws and big jumpers, boot slippers and hot water bottles to keep warm.

Soap bars Vs bottles.

Don't redecorate often.

Use menstrual cup.

Don't use wipes for cleaning.

Use essential oils for cleaning.

Avoid hair drying.

Walk anywhere within 4 miles.

Glasses Vs contacts

Don't use a lot of toiletries/ don't go to salons.

European wine Vs new world.

Look for products manufactured in UK/ Europe Vs overseas.

There's a few things we do.

• shop second hand where possible.
• I make my own clothes where possible.
• buy from local businesses.
• we don't own a car.
• keep food waste to a minimum.
• buy washing up liquid in a 5l container and refill a small bottle.
• use washing powder from a cardboard box .
• use ocean drops (I think?) to refill floor cleaner bottle.

There are more things I'm sure. We would like to recycle more but as we live in a flat with constantly over filled recycle bins downstairs it can be tricky.

@HollowTalk @Serenschintte , why not listen to a teenager ..my 17 yo is very informed, and the most likely to suffer due to climate change .

I do most of suggestions , the biggest being not flying and turning vegan, not using plastics, but it's worth reading these articles

www.theecoexperts.co.uk/blog/most-polluting-companies

We can do all this but it's the big companies that are the worst polluters

We wear clothes for a bit longer before washing.
Shower on a timer because I can get carried away.
Next year I'm going to grow some veg.
A big one for us this year has been meal planning as we used to have an awful lot of food waste 😳
Eat less meat at home.
Use shampoo bars.
We're working on replacing the windows in our new house.
I'm going to have a look at solar panels but feel they are out of our range just now.

I despise log burners because the smoke and smell seems to linger at ground level, whereas chimney smoke blows away. If affects my DS’s asthma.
I really wish they’d ban them

I really hope they don’t because we would lose our only form of heating and 75% of our cooking. We don’t have any mains services.

We also don’t have any neighbours close by and the smoke goes up the chimney and blows away.

I grow my own veg and where possible buy locally produced food.
I don't keep constantly updating my car and the manufacturing costs associated.
I don't fly.
I recycle everything.
I try to buy refills.
I have a heat pump.
I buy good quality but long lasting clothes.
Most of my furniture is from charity shops.
I have meat free days (and eat more eggs).
I don't have a cat.
And the Biggie that dwarfs all the above .... I am child free.

OP I would consider avoiding meat substitutes. They’re not always particularly eco friendly but the main issue is the committed meat eaters often reject them because they don’t taste the same as meat. Of course they don’t! They never will. Personally I find the best alternative is to cook stuff that is meant to be vegan/veggie by design. Eg a three bean chilli, a Thai curry, a chickpea stew. Then the meal isn’t missing the meat in the same way. But even for stuff like burgers I find that a nut cutlet or bean burger is a better substitute than a plant-based fake meat burger because they’re not trying to be meat. They have their own taste instead.

We do most of the above.

Currently we are trying to cut palm completely out, next to impossible but to do this we bought bread maker.
It cuts out the plastic waste from the containers and all the chemicals in the bread.

In relation to supermarkets recycling soft plastic, this is just green washing. It is not possible to recycling soft plastic. It is sent to an incinerator.

There is very we as consumers can do to change the environment. It is all down to profit.

If we want to make a real impact. How about stop making \using concrete. Use hempcrete instead, it a carbon store and can be used over and over.
Concrete can't be reused and got rid off.
Do you think the concrete industry will allow that to happen?

@Serenschintte

None. It really is nonsense. My very informed 14 year old told me of his own volition that it was a publicity drive by the big polluting companies to take the attention off of them. By all means do think if you wish. Don’t get me wrong I recycle as a much as I can, try to limit waste, had a hybrid car, buy local etc. But it has a negligible affect on the planet.

I pretty much agree with this. I’ve seen on here about how vacuums are shit now because of rules about suction/power - basically if more powerful machines were available people would buy them. Change has to come from directives like this. I do only use reusable menstrual equipment, plan meals to avoid food waste and recycle (which I suspect is a waste of time), only have one car and mostly walk, eat a lot of plant-based food, reusable cloths instead of wipes etc. But I’m under no illusions that this is what will make the difference.

Definitely could do more here but mostly:

Sticking to one small car only for 4 family household;
Using public transport and walking wherever we can;
Shampoo and soap bars, not bottles;
Don’t use the tumble dryer;
Thinking sensibly about which areas of the house need heating when (closing doors to kitchen and dining room in the evening and guest rooms so that we only heat a smaller part of the house with the thermostat in);
Using an energy company that invests in green energy;
Buying everything we can 2nd hand and buying less stuff;
Decision to have no pets;
Showers only (except bath children once or twice a week).

@Newnews

OP I would consider avoiding meat substitutes. They’re not always particularly eco friendly but the main issue is the committed meat eaters often reject them because they don’t taste the same as meat. Of course they don’t! They never will. Personally I find the best alternative is to cook stuff that is meant to be vegan/veggie by design. Eg a three bean chilli, a Thai curry, a chickpea stew. Then the meal isn’t missing the meat in the same way. But even for stuff like burgers I find that a nut cutlet or bean burger is a better substitute than a plant-based fake meat burger because they’re not trying to be meat. They have their own taste instead.

Agree with this.

I got started cooking good veggie meals without meat substitutes by using hello fresh for a few months (admittedly not the best low packaging option), once I got confident and had worked out our favourite recipes I just switched to using the recipe cards but buying my own ingredients from the supermarket.

Oh also, not quite the same but we try to encourage as much biodiversity in our garden as possible. Long areas of grass, piles of logs, plants for pollinators, holes in fences for wildlife, two ponds and not worrying about it being too tidy… the priority is for it to be a good habitat that hopefully other gardeners will follow too to link up habitats.

@essaytwenty

I despise log burners because the smoke and smell seems to linger at ground level, whereas chimney smoke blows away. If affects my DS’s asthma. I really wish they’d ban them

I really hope they don’t because we would lose our only form of heating and 75% of our cooking. We don’t have any mains services.

We also don’t have any neighbours close by and the smoke goes up the chimney and blows away.

I think log burners as a secondary heat source should be banned, and the government should provided some really good green energy grants to get the tiny minority of homes that have solid fuel as their primary heating upgraded.

Obviously truely off grid homes with no mains electricity supply would keep their log burners, but these properties are so rare as to be largely irrelevant to environmental policy making.

@jennytogether

Oh also, not quite the same but we try to encourage as much biodiversity in our garden as possible. Long areas of grass, piles of logs, plants for pollinators, holes in fences for wildlife, two ponds and not worrying about it being too tidy… the priority is for it to be a good habitat that hopefully other gardeners will follow too to link up habitats.

This absolutely is part of it.

I've planted loads of trees and shrubs and lots of pollinating flowers in my garden over the last 7 years. It currently feels very insignificant (although a couple of the trees are just starting to look like little trees rather than saplings ), but if I walk down the road and look at my neighbours garden, who have been doing this for 40 years, I instantly see how important what I'm doing is. Stick with it, it will be amazing in the end.